Free Republic

Trumps Grammar Letter I read an article about a former grammar teacher who graded a letter from President Trump. The teacher returned it with appropriate comments regarding the grammar. The grammar is the responsibility of the president since he signed it. It doesn’t matter to me if he wrote it or even read it; if he signs it, it is his. For the record this display of poor grammar diminishes my support of President Trump the tiniest amount with my trust he will improve his grammar. After digesting the article I found no mention of the message President Trump intended...

The grammar, punctuation, syntax, and spelling in our country are nothing less than dreadful. And our youth don’t have a monopoly on this. It includes major media figures, political leaders, public spokespersons of major corporations, organizations, and the clergy. Examples: * Its a beautiful thing. Sorry—IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING. * We visited many country’s. Sorry—WE VISITED MANY COUNTRIES. Simple plural, no need for a possessive or apostrophe. * Attorney-Generals. Sorry—it’s ATTORNEYS-GENERAL, just like MOTHERS-IN-LAW. * We’re going to visit the Stewart’s. Sorry—WE’RE GOING TO VISIT THE STEWARTS. This is but a small smattering of the grammatical errors I see and...

Read the solicitation below. "Find a Apple Store workshop," "A Apple Store"?? Over 60 years ago, Ralph Kramden and Art Carney had them rolling in the aisles when their TV ad asked, "Can it core a apple?" This was no rushed off blog typed on a 4" touch screen. This is a formal short-form advertisement by a half-trillion dollar company. Sheesh!

The class-action lawsuit against Oakhurst Dairy that led to a memorable ruling highlighting the virtues of the Oxford comma has been settled for $5 million. The suit, filed in 2014, alleged that drivers for Oakhurst were eligible for overtime pay that they never received. The dairy, which in early 2014 was sold to a farmers cooperative by the Maine family that had owned it for 93 years, argued that the wording of a state law meant the drivers weren’t eligible for overtime pay.

Read it and weep, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” lovers: the word "literally" is being banned from an East Village bar. The much-maligned word is often used to show that something is serious or that one really meant their prior statement. It's a word that can come up multiple times in a conversation, especially when telling stories to friends. However, the Continental has posted a sign in the front window informing incoming patrons about the new rules. They state that if you use the word "literally" you have five minutes to finish your drink and exit the bar. If you...

I am buried in the Reagan Papers @ Reagan Library, so this is brief. 1) this FISA stuff is described ad a "threat to our democracy" 2) if the dossier was a blackmail doc on Trump, assigned & assembled BEFORE Trump was even the front runner 3) THEREFORE we can conclude such packages were already fully prepared for ALL candidates, especially those thought to be real contenders. 4) wait for it: "a threat to our democracy": 5) I will leave you with one name: John Roberts

A Canadian university professor ignited controversy by refusing to use gender-neutral pronouns. Is he a villain or a victim? University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson had enough of what he saw as a campus culture where "social justice warrior, left-wing radical political activists" ran rampant. In September he released a video lecture series taking aim at political correctness. He zeroed in on Canadian human rights legislation that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression. Dr Peterson was especially frustrated with being asked to use alternative pronouns as requested by trans students or staff, like the singular 'they' or...

An “antiracist” poster in a college writing center insists American grammar is “racist” and an “unjust language structure,” promising to prioritize rhetoric over “grammatical ‘correctness.'” The poster, written by the director, staff, and tutors of the University of Washington, Tacoma’s Writing Center, states “racism is the normal condition of things,” declaring that it permeates rules, systems, expectations, in courses, school and society. “Linguistic and writing research has shown clearly for many decades that there is no inherent ‘standard’ of English,” proclaims the writing center’s statement. “Language is constantly changing. These two facts make it very difficult to justify placing people...

University of Washington Tacoma - An "antiracist" poster in a college writing center insists American grammar is "racist" and an "unjust language structure," promising to prioritize rhetoric over "grammatical 'correctness.'" The poster, written by the director, staff, and tutors of the University of Washington, Tacoma's Writing Center, states "racism is the normal condition of things," declaring that it permeates rules, systems, expectations, in courses, school and society. "Linguistic and writing research has shown clearly for many decades that there is no inherent 'standard' of English," proclaims the writing center's statement. "Language is constantly changing. These two facts make it very...

Construction of two of the three sections of the multi-lane First Coast Expressway running through Clay County and neighboring Northeast Florida communities is behind schedule, according to Florida Department of Transportation officials, who cited a variety of factors for the delays. The expressway is a limited access toll facility is touted by elected officials and economic development authorities in Clay as being a gateway to new residential and commercial economic growth, which translates into an increased tax base. When completed, the expressway will span 46.5 miles. It be a connecting road outside of the existing Interstate 295 Loop between Interstate...

Fred Astaire drew laughs back in the Thirties with his song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" in which the lovers can't agree on the pronunciation of words like either, neither, and tomato. On a personal level, I cringe when I hear someone sound the "t" in often or pronounce pecan with a short "a," but I have to acknowledge that both these pronunciations are widely accepted alternate pronunciations that can be justified by the spelling. Alternate pronunciations, however, are a different matter from out-and-out mispronunciations. The latter, no matter how common, are incorrect, either because of the spelling that...

Donald Trump's use of vocabulary and grammar is more elementary than that of other candidates, according to a new study that compared the candidates' English language skills. The New York businessman's grammar was comparable to a 5th grader's, lower than the average 6th to 8th grade levels used by Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as well as Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, according to a newly released Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute study. Sanders scored highest in vocabulary, and was ranked at the level of an 11th grader. Trump was most comparable to a 7th...

Searching comments on presidential candidates’ Facebook pages in search of grammatical errors, typos, misplaced or missing apostrophes, unnecessary capital letters and redundant exclamation points bears fruit in seconds: Amid this flawed, headache-inducing verbiage, there is a pattern. So says Grammarly, a private, San Francisco-based company behind what’s billed as “the world’s leading automated proofreader.” The company analyzed comments on 19 presidential candidates’ Facebook pages and found that: 1) supporters of Republican candidates make more mistakes than supporters of Democrats; 2) supporters of Republican candidates use fewer unique words than supporters of Democrats; and 3) Donald Trump supporters made the most...

Proper grammar seems to be a thing of the past -- why stress about tiny technicalities, right? Wrong.You should be a grammar stickler for many reasons. Do you want to risk turning off potential clients, employers and connections because of grammatical mistakes?Many people are so concerned with what they are saying in an email or text message that they completely forget to pay attention to how they are saying it. If you chose to turn grammar mode off when you are communicating with friends, that is one thing, but there is absolutely no reason to send a professional communication that contains errors.Here...

Carly Fiorina‘s Facebook fans may be disappointed that the former Hewlett-Packard CEO didn’t make the cut for the Republican primetime debate Thursday. But her online loyalists do have a modest consolation: They win the prize for best grammar, spelling and punctuation among the major candidates’ backers. Who fares worst? Fans of frontrunner Donald Trump, who is at the top of the polls and has also dominated social-media discussions. That’s based on analysis from automated-proofreading company Grammarly, which evaluated the supporters of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates.

Blithering idjit Chris Hayes seems incapable of understanding a simple sentence in English, to whit: The 2nd Amendment: The Supreme Court in Heller basically deleted the "well regulated militia" portion of the 2nd Amendment. #textualism #inners — Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes)

Yesterday, at a neighbor's house, his 4th grade daughter read something very well and I asked her what grade she was in and complimented her on her reading .....

If you are under the age of 45, chances are that at some point somebody over the age of 45 has condemned your alleged overuse of the word “like.” This person may or may not have said it politely. He or she may have been motivated by an altruistic desire to make you look respectable to others, a self-interested impulse to stop you from irritating them, or something in between. Either way, how we use “like” is one of the most gaping generational divides this side of those who ask, “Did you get my email?” (Of course we got your...

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – The University of New Mexico’s student paper has started using new pronouns for people who don’t identify as a man or a woman. “I thought that was ridiculous,” said Samantha Peters. “I think the names are kind of funny,” said Paul Talley. “I feel it’s weird,” said Michael Peters. The names “zi” and “zir” have people on UNM’s campus talking. Thursday, the university’s newspaper, The Daily Lobo, explained in an editorial it will now be using the two words as pronouns when writing about people who don’t identify as a male or a female. “The only non...

It’s a perpetual lament: The purity of the English language is under assault. These days we are told that our ever-texting teenagers can’t express themselves in grammatical sentences. The media delight in publicizing ostensibly incorrect usage. A few weeks ago, pundits and columnists lauded a Wikipedia editor in San Jose, Calif., who had rooted out and changed no fewer than 47,000 instances where contributors to the online encyclopedia had written “comprised of” rather than “composed of.” Does anyone doubt that our mother tongue is in deep decline? Well, for one, I do. It is well past time to consign grammar...